


things you never knew

by lilsmilez



Category: Mayans M.C. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2019-10-08 06:17:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17381216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilsmilez/pseuds/lilsmilez
Summary: Everyone grieves differently. Some can move on and live with the loss of their loved ones, while others go through a drastic change. Ailee left Santo Padre to rid herself of the sorrow she felt. Now, she 's back to face the people she once called family and take out the man she once loved. It's nothing personal, it's just business.





	1. One

“Ace,” Michael greeted me. “Per your request, Aurelio,” a smirk appeared on Michael’s face, happy to finally give this prick what he deserved. 

“Ailee, come on, Maquina is a friend.” Aurelio did not even let me ask the questions, he knew better. He always knew that the worst gang of them all was the government, but Maquina made the CIA and FBI look like reasonable people, like saints. 

But then again, Maquina basically did the dirty work for the CIA and FBI.

“Friendships end,” I took my gun out from the holster, looking at Michael. “Where’d you find him?”

“Attempting to cross the border,” Michael replied. “To Canada.”

“Canada? Not Mexico?” I questioned.

“I have family in Canada.” 

I nodded my head. “Why are you running? Thought you didn’t do anything wrong.” She twisted the silencer on the muzzle knowing that even though there were no occupied buildings for miles, it was always better to be safe than sorry. 

‘Sloppiness causes unnecessary deaths.’ Theo’s voice rang through my head.

“Ailee, come on, we’ve been in business together for 4 years, I’ve done all Maquina has asked of me.” Aurelio pleaded, struggling through his restraints.

I’ve killed so many people before that it was a routine at this point. It was my job. Way back when, I had a set of codes that I abided by, which seemed a bit hypocritical since I was an assassin. But even assassins had a code of ethics to assure that our way of living remained hidden. Maybe in some ways we tried to justify our kills, but we always tried to avoid killing an innocent person. After all, we had to have some ounce of humanity left in us.

At least I did or I used to. 

Nowadays, I killed with no qualms. The codes I used to live by was just not something I believed in anymore. With every body that dropped in front of me, with every life I took, my humanity begun to chip away. 

I nodded my head and took the gun. I pointed the gun at Aurelio, sliding my finger inside the trigger guard, placing my index finger on the trigger. He begged for mercy as I observed him. His face was full of cuts, blood sliding down the side of his face. His left eye was swelling from all the punches he received. 

For a moment, I felt that mercy that was once there. The one that let some people go due to their family ties. The one that cried whenever I took a life. The one that begged for forgiveness from God for all the sins I’ve committed. 

I shouldn’t show a sign of weakness. I shook my head, getting rid of the weakness that no assassin should ever have. Mercy was for the weak; I trained myself to be able to rid of such thoughts. 

My feet begun moving towards the man, placing the gun on his forehead. “Sorry, it’s nothing personal. You just helped the wrong guy.” I pulled the trigger, his blood splattering on my clothes and face. 

I didn’t even blink.

Insane, isn’t it?

The man dropped on the floor as I put my arm down. Michael handed me a towel and I wiped my face. He then handed me a sweatshirt so I could cover my shirt. I took it, slipping it on my body.

“At least your jeans are black,” Michael pointed out making both of us laugh.

“Isn’t it always?” I looked at Michael and gave him a small smile. “Clean this up?”

“Don’t I always?” He replied returning my smile with that smirk of his.

I nodded my head and walked out of the abandoned building we used to kill or torture the living shit out of people. Cliché, I know, but abandoned warehouses/buildings were the best places to rid the world of some people that no longer contributed much to society. 

I wasn’t exactly proud of my job, but it was what I was good at. Oddly enough, I was never a troubled child, I got straight A’s, a model student as one might say, but for some reason, I drifted to this lifestyle. Fighting absolutely fascinated me. Action movies were my favorite movie genre. But at one point, I was a college student, a so-called “normal” person. Then one day, I dropped out. College wasn’t for everyone and it certainly wasn’t for me. My parents were absolutely devastated, but they weren’t going to be devastated for long, they were killed the next day. 

It wasn’t an accident, even though that’s how everyone tried to paint it. 

It was an assassination. 

And that’s how I was introduced into this world. 

My parents worked for this organization, they owned the organization. 

It was the government’s loophole to diplomacy. Mercenaries. Though, we were whatever the assignment needed, whether it be an assassin, a mole, etc. At the end of the day, we worked for the government. However, we did partake in independent contracts as well. 

Maquina. 

It was the name of the agency my parents owned. My siblings and I were in shock when we first found out; we didn’t know that this was what our parents were doing. My father’s older brother, Jin, was technically the one who owned the company, but my father sacrificed plenty for the company as well. When my parents had us, they weren’t as active, but once in a while, their business trips constituted of assassinating someone.

Their lives were what movies were based on and it was absolutely fascinating. 

My older sister, Evangelina didn’t want to be involved, at least not in the killing aspect. She was a lawyer and was content with her job, but she was the in-house lawyer in the event there were some difficulties. But Evangelina usually handled the contracts for Maquina with the US government and our allies. John, much like Evangelina, didn’t want to be involved, but much like Evangelina, he had a part in the company. The odd numbered children was far away from the killing aspect of the agency as possible. 

But Vince, the second oldest, and myself, the youngest, were immediately immersed. That was the catch though, my siblings feigned their surprise, it was only I that was kept in the dark. All of my siblings knew, because when they reached a certain age, my parents told them about it. I was a week away from them telling me of their true occupation.  
Vince, much like myself, was an assassin. The best in the agency, that was no surprise since apparently my dad was some sort of legend. Though, its not like he was competing with anyone when the agency began.

Make a long story short, Vince died two years after my parents did and that’s when I took the mantle, to continue the family name. It sounded absolutely insane, there were much safer jobs, but when Vince died, a part of me died with him and the ruthless aggression began.

For some time I continued to follow the code, it was Vince’s code after all. But as the sadness and anger consumed me, things changed. 

Killing helped ease the pain. 

Evangelina and John knew what I did for a living that much was obvious, but they did not approve of it whatsoever. They never tried to run my life, they didn’t start now, but they always threw caution my way. 

I, Ailee Cruz, have been living this life for about seven years now. 

It was my daily routine. 

I go in the agency, get my mission, and leave. Though some missions took longer than others, lately I’ve been local since I’ve earned my due. Seniority gave you the opportunity to pick certain missions for yourself. If it looked interesting, it was yours, if not, it was given to someone else. Seniority was hard to earn in this life since most people don’t make it very far. I was fortunate to have made it this far, but then again, I’m the best, I’m untouchable. 

And others just leave this life behind. It wasn’t a job you kept for very long. Some people who made it through the years end up leaving and this wasn’t a movie, they don’t tie you down for life. Once your contract was up, if you desired to leave, you may leave. They even help you find a new job. It was the benefits of being paired up with the government. 

It wasn’t the agency that haunted you, it was the sins that you committed that did. It was absolutely difficult not to make enemies in this type of setting. I’ve made some, but they were all six feet under, not my doing, it was their own doing.

I looked at the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the shining monuments of San Francisco, but all it did was bring pain to me. Vince jumped from that bridge. His body was never recovered. It wasn’t suicide, he was trying to escape someone. I was never able to figure out who had it out for my brother and it angered me, I wanted to avenge him, to make sure that whoever killed him suffered. But nowadays, I was far too busy to even try and look for whoever did it. The revenge didn’t fade, I just didn’t want to open old wounds. I finally had some hold of my life, I didn’t want to lose control once again. 

“How was it?” A voice broke me away from the bridge. 

I looked beside me and a laugh escaped my lips. “You’re lucky I don’t have a gun on me or I would have shot you.” 

Xander, my fellow agent and brother-in-law, chuckled. “So, how was it?”

“Would you like to see my shirt?” 

“No, you’re fine,” he shook his head. “A new assignment came through for you.” He held up a folder.

“From my uncle?” Aurelio was a personal favor I handled for my uncle. It was odd that he didn’t tell me of this other mission he wanted to assign to me. 

“No, it’s an independent contractor.”

I nodded, holding out my hand. He placed the folder in my hand and I opened it, the profile and pictures in the folder shocked me.

Who the fuck did Angel Reyes pissed off?

I knew of Angel’s affiliation with the Mayans, it was hard to miss when I saw him often when we were growing up. Vince was never attracted to that MC lifestyle, but it’s not as if our lifestyle was any better. If anything, we were worst than the MC. 

Angel was a former friend of Vince’s. We all grew up in Santo Padre together. He remained close to Angel, but I honestly haven’t seen the guy since my brother’s funeral. He tried to keep in contact with me, but I didn’t need any more reminders of my brother’s absence. 

It was with me everyday. 

“Angel Reyes? Since when did mechanics become targets?”

“This isn’t exactly high profiled case. At least he isn’t a politician, you know those are a pain.” Xander pointed out. “They specifically asked for you. And we both know that Angel Reyes isn’t just some mechanic.”

“Peculiar.” I shrugged and closed the folder. “Consider it done.”

“Wait, are you serious? You’re going to do it? He was extremely close to Vin-,”

“Don’t,” I cut him off. “Don’t say his name. This has nothing to do with him.”

“But Lee-”

“This is a business, what we do is not for the weak of heart.”

“Ailee, don’t be ridiculous, you know it’s more than that.” Xander sighed, I’m sure he was frustrated with my indifference. .

I was the best at what I do. I’m a ruthless killer with no sympathy for the person I had to kill. It was a sad life. 

Could you imagine feeling no remorse when you see a lifeless body fall before you? When I use to hear stories about murders, I would always think that whoever committed such a crime had to be insane, but I was wrong.

I’m a perfectly sane person.

I just craved blood. 

The adrenaline I felt when I killed another person, I would just watch his or her body fall, thinking in my head that I had one less person to worry about. This life I live, you’re always on alert, especially if you make enemies on the way. Sure the government technically protected you, our identities were more concealed than the Navy Seals, but some people make mistakes and they make enemies. I made that mistake once, but I cleaned it up. 

The praise you received, the respect you acquire when you put another notch on your belt. It’s the best feeling in the world. 

So then the question was, why do I do it? 

In the world we live in today, you either kill or be killed, I choose to live a longer life. 

I sound insane, I know. It’s like I’m contradicting my previous statement, but I’m not. 

I’m a perfectly sane person.

“You don’t have to come with me, it’s a personal contract, you can stay put.” I slipped contract in the bag that I was carrying. “You were never a big fan of Angel, shouldn’t be an issue for you.”

“If I knew Angel was connected to your humanity, I would have definitely approved of Angel.” 

“There’s no turning back now.”


	2. Chapter 2

Ailee tied the apron around her waist, helping out with the morning rush in Los Angeles, California, her home base. When she wasn’t killing people for a living, she was working at a café that ran as a cover for Maquina’s headquarters in Los Angeles.

 

In this coffee shop, new trainees were trained, which was peculiar in some ways. Ailee laughed it off at first, thinking the idea was absolutely ridiculous. But being here, watching these new trainees and the discipline they learned by refraining from cussing out unruly, high maintenance customers, it made sense.. Learning discipline from doing menial tasks such as memorizing recipes or whatnot. It was definitely not an easy task and it definitely it heightened the skills they needed to accomplish.

 

“Ailee, you’re back,” a customer she would consider as a regular greeted her as she made her way to the register. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

 

“Had a business trip, looking to expand our café up north,” Ailee lied so well at this point, it was fluid.

 

“Oh! That’s a great venture, what areas were you looking at? My cousin is a realtor, could definitely help you find a good place.” She responded after making her order.

 

“I’ll definitely take you up on that once it’s a done deal, didn’t really find anything and would love to have a local show me around,” Ailee smiled after swiping her card.

 

Ailee walked back to the machines, making the woman’s drink for her. She never really understood why she needed to be here at the beginning, but after doing this for a few years, she found it as a nice break from the world of killing and causing an uproar in countries to overthrow unstable governments.

 

After making the woman’s drink, she walked over to the woman who found a table, her work for the day already set up.

 

“Here you go Alona,” Ailee placed her drink on the table.

 

“Thanks Ailee,” Alona looked up, with a smile on her face. “Can I ask you a question? I’m doing some research for my next article and I was wondering if you can help me out.”

 

“Uh, sure,” Ailee was unsure of this, but at the same time, she knew she could kill this woman if it was an unwarranted question.

 

“What was the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?”

 

That question caused Ailee’s mind to go on a frenzy. There were so many answers to that question. Her first kill. Her first undercover mission. It all had something related to Maquina. But all of those Maquina related killings were never hard for her, no. The hardest thing she ever had to do was walk away from Angel Reyes and that was something that will go with her to the grave.

* * *

_Ailee smiled as she felt Angel’s lips trailing down her bare back, burying her head on the pillow._

_“Angel,” she groaned._

_“Ready for another round?”_

_“You are insatiable,” she turned around, Angel’s lips immediately meeting hers._

_“What does that mean?” He whispered against her lips before he pulled away._

_“You’re impossible to satisfy,” she always loss herself in his dark brown eyes. She was addicted to Angel and she couldn’t quit him. Even after everything that happened with her brother, he was the shining light in this whole ordeal. He didn’t need to know that she became a monster because when she was with him, her disdain for herself was not as high. The rules she played by didn’t apply._

_“Not true, only you can satisfy me,” he pinned her arms down as he hovered over her. His eyes trailed down her body as a devilish smirk appeared on his face. “I could never get enough of you querida.” His voice sent shivers down her spine._

_“I’m sure you tell all your girls that,” she teased him knowing she was the only one he ever such words to._

_“No baby girl, you know you’re the only one,” one of his hands let go of her arm, caressing her cheek. “Te quiero.”_

_Ailee smiled. Whenever she was lost in these moments with him, she felt as if she still deserved to be loved. That if she dropped everything now, she would be happy with Angel in Santo Padre along with his father, Felipe and his extended family. But Ailee knew that was all a lie. This could easily be taken from her and she didn’t want to cause Angel his life._

_“Te quiero,” she pulled him down so their lips could meet once again._

_She knew that she shouldn’t be tangled with Angel right now, she had to meet Elena in 2 hours and that woman was all about punctuality. On time was arriving 30 minutes early._

_Ailee pulled away, sitting up and grabbing Angel’s shirt that was discarded on the floor. Slipping the shirt on, she attempted to get out of bed, but was pulled back by Angel into his embrace._

_“It’s your day off,” Angel pointed out._

_“Baby, my boss wants to have a meeting, it’ll be quick. Before you know it, I’ll be back in your arms.” They never made it official, but after doing this for 4 years, there were no words needed._

_“You still coming to the clubhouse tonight?” Angel let her go reluctantly._

_“I plan on coming, you want me there?”_

_“I always want you near me.”_

_“Insatiable.” Ailee laughed. “Want to join me in the shower?”_

_Angel just smirked as he stood up quickly, wrapping his arms around Ailee as he placed kisses along her neck._

_He was addicted and he couldn’t quit her even if he tried._

_Ailee watched as Angel walked out of his father’s butcher shop, carrying a box of meat to a customer’s car. She took a sip of the coffee in front of her, letting the bitter taste slide down her throat._

_“I definitely see why you keep coming back to this god forsaken town,” her companion commented._

_“Fuck you,”_

_Elena, her commanding officer laughed at her vulgar words. “This is for the best,” the humor was no longer present. “Staying around will only make things worst.”_

_“He’s part of a biker club for god’s sakes.” Ailee retorted. “I only have Angel,” Ailee paused for a moment. “After what happened to Vince, he’s the only person who truly understands.”_

_She saw Angel slip on his Mayans vest before getting on his bike. For a moment, she thought he saw her as he looked across the street, but then she realized that the window in front of her was tinted, almost impossible for him to see. She left him in her apartment so that she could meet Elena._

_Angel never knew of her affiliation to Maquina. It would be too difficult to explain to him, but she was certain that he knew of Maquina through Vince. The two became much closer than before after EZ went to prison. Vince confided everything to Angel, except for his enemies since he never wanted to get Angel involved._

_Maquina was a different beast compared to Angel’s MC._

_“Lee, sacrifices have to be made, Theo is still out there and if he knows of your weakness, he won’t hesitate to wipe out Angel, his family and his MC.” Elena reasoned, her voice in hushed tones as a precaution. “I know he’s technically in Madrid, building his weapons company, but you know he’s staying quiet and waiting for the right moment.”_

_“You need me to be focused.”_

_“You’ve been through a lot due to Vince’s recent passing,” Ailee closed her eyes, still not coming to terms with her brother’s death. “I’ve watched you, you’re becoming more ruthless, which benefits us, but I never wanted you to lose your humanity.” Elena watched as Angel rode away, Ailee watching along with her. “Maybe this is a mistake, I think you should stay near Angel, it’s the only time I see your humanity come out. I’m not sure if it’s due to you putting up an act in front of him or your humanity comes through when you’re with him.”_

_Elena was right and Ailee knew it. Angel was a distraction. As much as she craved for his company, as much as she loves him, he was an unnecessary distraction. She needed to be committed and focused on Maquina._

_This was the only way she can guarantee that._

_“When do we leave for DC?”_

_“In two hours.”_

_“We should go.”_

_“You’re not going to say goodbye?”_

_“I already did.”_

* * *

 

Ailee broke away from her stupor and gave Alona a small smile. “Opening this café was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

 

“I figured you would say that,” Alona returned her smile. “It is quite a feat, many people frequent your café even though there are other café’s near by.”

 

“What can I say, we give great customer service,” Ailee shrugged as she let out a slight chuckle. “Good luck on your article.”

 

“Thanks Ailee,”

 

She made her way to the kitchen and found her team already waiting for her. The team consisted of Michael, Jennifer and Xander. She didn’t need a big team, the four of them could rattle a whole country, the less people on a team, the more efficient the assignment was carried out.

 

“Took you long enough,” Jennifer teased. “It’s not that busy.”

 

“Why won’t you try it for a change?” Ailee playfully threw her apron at Jennifer.

 

“I would, but I already paid my dues,” she smirked, catching the apron and placing it on the counter.

 

“You ready? Arthur is going to brief us.” Xander questioned as he slipped his phone back in his pocket.

 

Ailee nodded remembering why her team was here in the first place. They usually went their separate ways after a mission. As much as they adored one another a little time apart was much needed. Besides, Ailee liked her space to rejuvenate and rid herself of any remnants of a mission. As much as her emotions have been locked away, she still had a sense of humor. She knew that she worried her friends, her family, but this was who she was now. The blood she’s shed over the years, an eternity in hell wouldn’t even begin to pay for her sins.

 

The five went down the hall that looked to lead to the back end of the store, but instead, it led to the office that was disguised for one of the entrances to the Maquina headquarters in Los Angeles. No one would ever suspect a coffee shop to be a front for a secret organization.

 

Once inside the office, Ailee placed her hand on the wall, which illuminated under her, scanning her handprint.

 

“Welcome Ace,” a voice greeted as the door opened.

 

Behind the wall was an elevator that led to the ground floor of the café. Once they were under ground, they walked down a hallway that led them to another elevator that brought them up the building that was next to a café. It was another front, a furniture shop at the bottom and offices up top.

 

“This is the most extra headquarters ever, feel like we could just had blocked off a top floor of one of the buildings in Century City.” Michael rolled his eyes as the elevator made its way up to the 10th floor.

 

“Far too flashy, too many corporations want to set up shop in Century City.” Xander replied.

 

“Yes, because Santa Monica isn’t.” Michael scoffed.

 

Once they arrived on the floor, they made their way to one of the conference rooms where Arthur was waiting for them. Michael opened the door, holding it open until everyone was inside.

 

“Of course you 5 would be late,” Arthur rolled his eyes. “Do you assholes think I have nothing better to do?”

 

“Arthur, we were literally a minute late,” Jennifer argued as she sat down on one of the chairs.

 

“Punctuality, that’s what you 5 lack of, the café should have been around when you 5 were trainees, would have taught you a thing or two.”

 

“Yes, because you’re always punctual,” Ailee smirked. “If I recall, you were 2 hours late for our last meeting,” Ailee’s smirk grew. “Since you were on a date with that cute trainee.”

 

“I forgot about the meeting!” Arthur looked away from Ailee, focusing his eyes back on the laptop in front of him.

 

Ailee laughed, shaking her head. “Lock it down.”

 

Arthur pressed the button beside him, cutting off the signal for their cell phones and tinting the windows that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. Privacy has been one of the most important aspects of being in Maquina. If someone was not going to be a part of your life in the next 5 years, Maquina should never be uttered. The government went on great lengths to protect Maquina. A certain level of clearance would be the only way for a government official to find out about Maquina.

 

“Let’s begin the presentation,” the lights dimmed as Arthur said those words. The screen behind him turned on as he moved to the side so that he wouldn’t block the view. “Angel Ignacio Reyes, son of Felipe and Marisol Reyes, brother to Ezekiel Reyes.” A surveillance photo of Angel appeared on the screen with his fellow members Coco and Gilly. “His brethren’s, Coco and Gilly.”

 

“What? No information on them?” Ailee questioned.

 

“This is bullshit and you know it,” Arthur replied, his tone soft even though his words were harsh. “Ailee, you know all about this guy.”

 

“Many things can change in 5 years,” she shrugged.

 

“Don’t overestimate the MC, besides running for the Galindo Cartel, not much has changed for them.” Arthur knew of Angel and Ailee’s history. This briefing was a waste of time, but he knew Ailee’s play. The more she made it seem like one of her regular hits, the more she could make herself believe that this was what it was, just one of her contracts.

 

“Arthur, please proceed with your briefing.” Ailee’s tone turned professional and the aura in the room changed. Ace was coming out, Ailee was no longer there. The stone cold killer Maquina created was present.

 

“His brother Ezekiel has began prospecting for the MC,” this information caught Ailee’s attention.

 

“EZ? He’s out of prison?” One of her eyebrows rose at this information. Ailee knew what Ezekiel was to his family, the pride and joy as Angel was pushed to the back. She knew it bothered Angel some, but his loyalty and love for his brother always pushed away whatever insecurity he had. It was always there, but that did not mean that Angel wasn’t proud of EZ. Though, she did wish that every once in a while, he was shown the amount of love EZ was shown. Angel was a great man, in her eyes, even greater than EZ. Everything was handed to EZ, Angel fought for his keep.

 

“Yep, the golden boy has decided to follow in big brother’s footsteps.” Arthur slightly smirked at this revelation, knowing the next bombshell he was going to drop would put the pieces of the puzzle together. “He also has a deal with the DEA in order for them to crack down on the Galindo Cartel.”

 

Ailee laughed out loud at that. “The DEA is such a bunch of jerk offs,” Ailee shook her head. “I’m guessing that he agreed to give them information at the behest that Angel and the MC would never be touched.”

 

“Ding ding ding,” Arthur tapped the table in front of him. “And of course, an erasure of his crime.”

 

“Why didn’t you offer him that?” Michael questioned. Everyone knew of Ailee’s past with the Reyes siblings. Whenever they were done with a mission during their first few years of Ailee’s Maquina career, she always came home to Santo Padre, along with her brother Vince to visit the small town living they had grown accustomed to.

 

“Uncle Jin wouldn’t allow me too, it was too personal.” Ailee knew she could have fought for EZ’s release, would have been easy to do so. Attempting to get EZ released would have been easy as it was a crime in a small town that could have been easily covered.

 

“I’m sure that didn’t deter you.” Xander slightly smirked, knowing how persistent Ailee could be when she wanted something.

 

“I bought him protection,” Ailee sighed. “Vince reasoned with me that trying to get EZ out of jail would leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths.”

 

“Since when did that ever stop you two?”

 

“EZ did the crime, he had to do the time, it’s what makes the world go around,” Ailee leaned back. “At least their world.”

 

“The DEA deal can easily be severed, we don’t need them sniffing around if you actually decide to,” Xander paused, choosing his next words carefully. “Accomplish this mission.”

 

“We can offer EZ another deal, besides, the Galindo Cartel isn’t much of a threat, they’re merely a small player in a small border town,” Michael knew better than to brushed a cartel aside, but they’ve dealt with far bigger players to worry about cartel they could easily wipe off the map.

 

“And they’re in bed with the CIA, as much as I like pulling the strings of the CIA, I rather not do it for an easy kill,” Jennifer added her two cents.

 

“So what’s the plan? We all know there’s no point to this briefing, what’s your play Lee? Killing a biker isn’t difficult, many people want them dead.” Arthur knew he was being coldhearted, but he wanted Ailee to see how ridiculous this idea was. Killing Angel would practically get rid of the small amount of humanity that was in her. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew that she watched over the MC, and he was almost certain she was the reason that EZ got the DEA deal.

 

“Guess Santo Padre is getting a brand new café.” Ailee stood up leaving them behind, effectively ending the lockdown Arthur placed.

 

Once she was out of earshot, the four looked at one another and shook their heads.

 

“This was the plan that Evangelina came up with?” Michael questioned Xander.

 

“Believe me, this was not her idea,” Xander rolled his eyes.

 

“Whose was it?”

 

“It was Angel’s idea.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

Ailee walked out of her newly opened coffee shop at the heart of Santo Padre, right across from Felipe’s butcher shop. She smiled at a customer as they walked pass her and entered the shop, where Arthur and a few of their trainees awaited them.

The coffee shop officially opened 2 weeks ago, but this was the first time she came to see the fruition of her plan. This was the first step, to make Angel know of her presence. She’s heard from Jennifer that a few of the Mayans have stopped by. They recognized her and were looking for Ailee. Jennifer just gave them a small smile as an answer and for some reason they took that and left. But she knew it was only a matter of time till she ran into Angel again, this was her plan all along.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she heard EZ say from beside her.

Ailee looked over his way and smirked. “Well, well, if it isn’t boy wonder,” she turned towards him as EZ walked over to her.

“Boy wonder? I think I’ve graduated to Batman or some shit by now.” EZ wrapped his arms around Ailee, slightly squeezing her as if to confirm she was real. He knew of her relationship with Angel and just how close there were. He was still surprised when Angel told him during a visit that he lost contact with her. EZ knew better than to believe in love at first sight, but he knew that Ailee has had his brother hooked ever since they were kids.

He recalled going over with his mother and Angel to welcome the new neighbors in the neighborhood. It was such an odd thing, but his mother insisted that they bring the family tamales as a welcome. He rarely tried to argue with his mother and he figured this would be a good venture. They walked across the street, rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door.

When the door opened, it was a young girl who opened it, maybe a year or so younger than him. Her dark brown hair was in pigtails and she looked up at them with her greenish-hazel eyes. He looked over at Angel and he had to refrain himself from smacking him so that he would stop staring at the young girl. Before his mother could even say anything, a woman of Asian descent opened the door wider. She greeted them with a warm smile and the young girl hid behind the woman’s legs, peeking out every once in a while.

He remembered that day vividly, he’s never seen his older brother play with a girl. But when Ailee placed her small hand in his, dragging him away from the conversation his mother and her mother were having, it was quite an amusing site.

“Nope, you’ll always be boy wonder, you’re too happy to be Batman,” Ailee teased as she pulled away from him. “Angel could definitely go for Batman, he has the sarcasm and the angst to go with it.”

EZ laughed at that. “You’re just picking him as Batman cause that’s your type.”

“Fuck you,” Ailee was genuinely enjoying herself. She forgot how much joy it brought her to be around one of the Reyes brothers. They always managed to get her out of her stupor.

“That’s my brother’s job,” he winked at her.

Ailee playfully pushed him causing EZ to let out a laugh. It was like the good old days and Ailee didn’t know how much she needed that, how much she missed that.

“I’m glad to see you out Ezekiel.”

“Ouch, full name, are you going to start crying?”

Ailee shook her head, crossing her arms, a small smile gracing her face. “How’s Tio Felipe?”

“He’s good, have you not seen him?”

“Didn’t want to bug him, feel like I’m intruding.”

“Since when did you ever care about that? You’re family, you know this,” EZ grabbed her hand and led her across the street. He knew his first move should have been to call Angel, but he was almost certain his brother knew that Ailee was back in town. After all, idiotically placed a hit on himself and handed the contract to Ailee. From his interaction with Ailee, it didn’t seem like she turned into a ruthless killer, but then again, what did he know? He of all people should know that things could change in an instant, what more 5 years?

“Pop, I have someone here to see you,” EZ announced as he opened the door. Thankfully the shop was empty.

Felipe came from the back and a smile graced his face when he saw Ailee. “Ailee,” he breathed out, stopping by the display. “You’re back,” he wiped his hands with the apron he wore before walking over to her and enveloping her in his embrace.

Ailee felt it. The warmth in her heart as Felipe whispered to her how glad he was to see her, that he missed her. She pulled away from him, kissing his cheek.

“How are you Tio Felipe?” Ailee questioned as they sat down. “You look well.”

“As do you,” Felipe leaned back, looking over at EZ. “Did you call Angel?”

Ailee had to smile at that. Whenever she was involved, Angel was the first thing on people’s minds in Santo Padre. They were attached to the hip, regardless of the age difference.

“Not yet,” EZ looked over at her. “You cool with that?”

“I don’t think I should be the one you ask. I’m the one who left,” Ailee smiled bitterly. She wasn’t proud of her actions, but she had to make a sacrifice to keep him and his family safe. Leaving Angel was the hardest thing she had to do, knowing the consequences of her action. Things became even much more complicated when Angel realized she wasn’t coming back.

Angel Reyes was a fighter and he definitely tried his best to contact her. But the beauty of being in Maquina was how well your tracks could be covered.

So she ran, she disappeared to Europe and eventually the calls, the letters, everything stopped.

She was an asshole. There was a better way to handle the situation, but a younger Ailee did what she knew best at that time, run away and cover her tracks.

“He misses you, you know,” Felipe informed the young woman in front of him. He didn’t agree with her reasoning to leave, but he knew why. He was quite close to Ailee’s uncle, Jin, who confided in him why his niece decided to suddenly disappear from his son’s life.

_‘You should know the game Felipe, Ailee had to walk away to assure you, EZ, Angel and his club stays alive. Theo is a psychopath, once he pinpoints her weakness, it’s a done deal.’_

He knew of Theo Kane, he just never saw Ailee as someone who would associate herself with such a man.

“You two should stop by the shop some time,” Ailee stood up. “Would love to catch up some more since I’ve missed a lot.”

“You should come by for dinner tomorrow night,” EZ suggested. “We try to have dinner once a week and tomorrow’s the night.”

“I’ll let you know,” Ailee knew she wouldn’t be able to go, she was living Santo Padre later tonight to fly out to Morocco and handle a mission for Maquina. “Tio Felipe,” she held out her hand, which Felipe took. She gave him a soft squeeze and smiled. “I’m sorry for what I did, I didn’t mean to hurt Angel.”

Felipe merely nodded, squeezing her hand right back. He never thought that Ailee could be a killer, it wasn’t in her nature. But then again, what determined such a thing?

“Bye EZ,” she let go of Felipe’s hand, walking out of the shop and back across the street.

“You can do this, just stay away from his family.” She murmured to herself. “Angel is a mission, he no longer means anything to you.” She knew it was a lie, but maybe if she said it to herself enough, she’ll start believing it.

* * *

 

“What the fuck you mean you saw her?” Angel was slightly ticked off at his younger brother. He specifically instructed the boy scout to steer clear from Ailee, to let her come to them. Yet his brother conveniently ran into her outside of her coffee shop.

“I ran into her,” EZ shrugged as they made their way across the tunnel to pick up Creeper from the doctor’s place. They were instructed by Bishop to pick him up and drop him off at Vicky’s. It was an easy task and the only reason Angel was with him was due to the phone call his father had placed after Ailee left the shop.

“Bullshit,” Angel spat out. “I told you to stay away Ezekiel.”

They reached the ladder that led to the clinic. The two brothers looked at one another, a smirk appearing on EZ’s place as the irritation on Angel’s face grew.

“I did, who am I to tempt the fate’s that obviously wanted our paths to cross.” EZ shrugged. Even though he was technically Angel’s prospect, he couldn’t help but pull his brother’s leg. He was still a younger brother after all.

“You’re such a little shit,” Angel grabbed EZ and placed him in a headlock, making EZ laugh. EZ tapped on Angel’s forearm. He let him go, smacking him across the back of his head. “How does she look?”

EZ’s playful demeanor changed then. He knew why Angel handed the contract to Ailee, but it just didn’t make sense to him. “She looked like Ailee, like _your_ Ailee.” 

Angel wasn’t going to lie, that made him feel at ease. But at the same time he knew better. Her siblings would not have reached out to her if she was till his Ailee. The one who used to use him to hide from scary movies. The one who used to cry when she saw blood on him that may or may not be his. It was such a drastic change from what he gathered that he couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

“Looks can be deceiving.”

“You’ve always known her better than me,” EZ shrugged. “But she looks good, she grew up well.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

EZ didn’t answer and just gestured for Angel to climb up the ladder. He wanted to grill EZ, but he knew he couldn’t. They had business to attend to after dropping Creeper off at Vicky’s.

He just hated that it was EZ who saw her first. But Angel wasn’t even certain if he was ready to see Ailee. She was the one that got away and in some ways, he was bitter about the whole situation. Ailee knew how much he counted on her, how much he cherished her, how much he trusted her.

Yet, she walked away with such ease, it still gave him whiplash when he thought about it. Evangelina and John had told him multiple of times that she had her reason, that she was doing everything for him.

But he just couldn’t see that.

* * *

The day went along with more shit piled up on his already complicated life. Adelita took Galindo’s son and now, the MC was basically playing detective trying to look for this kid. This whole ordeal with Adelita, how much he was hiding from the club, it was dangerous. But he was doing what the MC couldn’t do for themselves. This was for the good of the MC.

 

And he wasn’t going to lie, he had an admiration of some sorts towards Adelita, but like she said earlier, shit was too complicated to even entertain the idea.

 

Watching Miguel Galindo interrogate that innocent man was quite jarring for Angel. He’s seen some shit in his lifetime, but the cartel always up the ante. His conscience was slowly appearing, seeing all the people that were being affected by Adelita, it was beginning to get to him.

 

But sacrifices had to be made.

 

He just had to go for a ride, to clear his head from all this ridiculousness.

 

Getting on his bike, he put his helmet on, taking one last puff of the cigarette that hung in between his lips.

 

Before he can take off, a car passed him in the underground garage his apartment building had. It was a nice car, definitely not one that belonged to his ratty ass apartment. The car parked a few spaces down. When the door opened to the driver’s side, he didn’t recognize the driver. It was an Asian man, he was well built and almost as tall as him. When the passenger’s side opened, that’s when he almost fell off his bike.

 

Ailee stepped out, her hair no longer dark brown, but was now a shade of red. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, a few loose strands gracing her face.

 

“Fuck, Boy Scout was right.” He threw his cigarette butt.

 

A phone ringing disturbed the silence in the garage. Ailee’s male companion looked at her as she took her phone out.

 

“Ailee,” he heard her answer. “Arthur, we’re literally just grabbing my stuff.”

 

There was a pause.

 

“Arthur, I don’t give a shit. John can wait. I have to handle this assignment for the American Ambassador in Argentina then I can meet with him.”

 

Again another pause.

 

“What behavioral issues, that’s rich coming from a government who has issues with insubordination if it doesn’t fit their cause.” She heard the irritation in her voice and he could just shed her nose scrunch up the way it does whenever she was irritated.

 

Another voice filled the garage, obviously it was the person she was speaking to who was now in speaker phone. “Baby Lee, I get it, you’re pissed, but they want you to come for a briefing prior to going to Argentina. It’s bullshit, I get it, but the council isn’t that comfortable with your outside mission so close to the border.”

 

“When do I have to be there?”

 

“Well, you were supposed to be here already.”

 

“Did they want me to teleport there? Beam myself out of here?”

 

“Ailee, just get your ass on the damn plane and go to LA. You have clothes there.”

 

Angel peered out and saw Ailee holding the phone in one hand, the other on her hip. Her male companion watched on amused.

 

“I’ll be there,” he saw her touch her screen before shoving her phone back to her pocket.

 

“You know, that should be a private conversation, need I remind you we’re in a public place.” Angel studied the guy with her, not remembering if he’s ever seen him before. He was curious. Who was this man? As far as he knew, Ailee was the only one who was supposed to be here for this mission. Was this her boyfriend? Evangelina never mentioned a boyfriend.

 

“I don’t care, if someone did overhear, I can just easily kill them.”

 

He heard them go inside the car once again. Angel got off his bike, hiding behind a car that was parked beside him. They left as quickly as they arrived. Angel stood up, taking out his phone from his pocket. He clicked on Evangelina’s name.

 

“What’s going on?” Evangelina immediately asked when she answered the phone.

 

“Should there be something going on for me to call you?”

 

“Not exactly but I heard that Ailee wanted to expedite your assassination due to her reunion with your family. Thought you were calling cause of that.”

 

“No, but I overheard your sister. She’s headed to LA.”

 

“Oh that’s right, she has to do some rescue mission in Argentina, she’s getting the plane in LA.”

 

“No, they want her for a briefing or some shit,” Angel pinched the bridge of his nose. “She got a boyfriend?”

 

Evangelina laughed at Angel’s question. “Thought you had a thing for the rebel leader?”

 

“Just answer my question Evangelina.”

 

“My sister doesn’t have a boyfriend, she has fuck buddies. And I quote, ‘Relationships are not my forte, they require actually putting in an effort’. So no Ignacio, mi hermanita doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

 

“Whatever, just let me know when she’s back in town.”

 

Angel hung up, feeling relieved that Ailee doesn’t have a boyfriend. After seeing her today, he knew he had to speak to her again. He had to know what was going on in her pretty little head.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update! The one on Tumblr is more up to date and I've been meaning to update this however, just been busy with work and school. But here is an update now! Thank you for the kudos!

_Ailee walked into her home, hearing the ruckus Vince and Angel were making in the living room. She could have sworn she left the two playing video games and now she’s back from the grocery store and they were still playing video games. It’s not like she was gone very long, but she thought they would be headed over_

_But it was a welcoming site to her._

_It was the summer before Vince leaves again for his sophomore year and she wanted to cherish whatever time she had left with him. Even if it means she had to spend time with Angel, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make._

_Her relationship with Angel has been up and down ever since she turned 13 years old. She wasn’t sure what changed. Maybe it was puberty, maybe it was Angel’s new found cool status or whatever the fuck it was. Either way, she no longer dotted over Angel as she did when she was younger. She figured it was for the best since she had the most embarrassing crush on him. Her mother knew, of course she did, but no one else did. Though, Evangelina may know, but Ailee never tried to confirm it, she was too embarrassed to do so._

_It was so typical of her to have a crush on her brother’s best friend. It was too typical and as much as she tried to avoid it, she couldn’t. She expected to see him as a brother, that’s how it was supposed to work, but instead she developed a crush on him._

_Now at 16, her relationship with Angel became even worst since she hated just how much attention the eldest Reyes received from the ladies. EZ was attached to Emily, no other woman in their high school, their town can touch that. But Angel was single and ready to mingle. She hated it. At times she wished that Angel saw her more than Vince’s sister. Or as EZ says, ‘the sister they never had’. She was basically stuck in the friend zone, actually it was worst, she was in the family zone._

_“Lee,” she heard Vince call out to her. “Did you buy pizza?”_

_“No, mom ordered it for us.” She replied, placing the grocery bags on the counter. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, making a mental note to have John fix her glasses for her later._

_“Need some help?”_

_Ailee jumped at the sound of the voice behind her. Placing a hand on her chest, she sighed in relief when she found Angel. Her glasses fell out of place due to his sudden appearance. She fixed it once more before turning back around to take out the items from the grocery bag. He chuckled at her reaction and proceeded to help her with the groceries without really hearing an approval from her._

_“Look at you, driving around by yourself. Pretty sure you need a chaperone or something,” Angel teased her once he put the last of the fruits in the refrigerator._

_“Why? Are you offering?” Ailee retorted, walking over to the cabinet on the other side of the kitchen to place the canned goods._

_“Sure, why not, seems like you’re too cool to hang out with me now.” Angel loved teasing Ailee. He loved being around Ailee. It was the best part of his day. The way her nose would scrunch up and how she would blush every time he suggested they should hang out more. The way her glasses would slide down the bridge of her nose when she was reading one of the books from her ongoing list of books she must read before she died. She was growing up before her eyes and he wasn’t sure how to handle it, besides tease her, of course._

_Ailee didn’t reply, focusing on placing the cans in the cupboard. She looked up, knowing she was going to have to use the stool to put the rest since she wasn’t as tall as she would like. 5’8 wasn’t so bad, but Evangelina was 5’10. She was the shortest in her family. Before she could even look for the stool, she felt Angel behind her, pressing up against her as he placed the cans on the shelf. Ailee felt herself become flush; it was the closest Angel has been to her since she was 10. She felt her heartbeat quicken as Angel put the last of the cans up._

_“You okay?” Angel questioned, concern filling his brown eyes._

_“Yeah, I’m fine,” she moved away from him. “See you later.” Quickly, she made a dash to her room up the stairs and locked the door behind her._

_Angel Reyes was becoming the subject of her affections and as much as she has been trying to move on, it was difficult when he was at their home almost every day. Maybe she should just avoid him. She was good at that._

_She can just hang out with Vince when he was alone, whenever that was._

* * *

 

Ailee softly closed the door, looking at her watch. She had a ten-minute window to get this kill done. Xander disabled the security system and all the lights were out. This should be an easy kill. Currently, she was in Argentina, taking care of a thorn on the American Ambassador’s side. It was a government assignment that she honestly didn’t want to do. Some of these ambassadors basically used them as a tactic to flex their muscle.

 _“Alright, Jennifer has the guards distracted out front, Michael took care of the ones on the first floor. Second floor is clear.”_ Xander informed her as she took her gun out of her holster. She took out the silencer that was in her pocket and screwed it at the end of the gun. _“Quick kill and leave, reinforcements will come.”_

“Got it,” she made her way towards the master bedroom. Looking around, assessing all possible exits and entrances, she had her gun ready to shoot in case someone decided to come to the second floor.

Safely making it to the room, she opened the door, but before she can walk inside, someone shot at the door. Quickly looking behind her, she realized it was her target that was shooting at her. Moving to the side, she cussed under her breath. Thankfully she had night vision goggles on.

She heard two shots go off, it was a handgun, a .45 to be exact. Looking at the door, she realized that he already fired two shots before the last two shots. He had four more bullets left.

He fired once more. “Three.” She made sure her gun was loaded and ready to go.

And another. “Two.” She stood up and slipped on her facemask that aided on covering the rest of her face that was not covered by the goggles.

 _“Are you okay?”_ Xander questioned.

“Yes,” she mumbled.

He fired one last shot. “One.”

Ailee walked in the room and found him standing in front of his bed, his hands shaking as he tried to reload his gun. He was obviously inexperienced and judging by the way he shot at her, his minions obviously did all the work. Her finger was already at the trigger and without hesitation she pressed down and shot the man right on the head. He fell back, the gun and the magazine he was holding fell to the floor.

“Job done.”

* * *

 

Ailee, Michael, and Jennifer walked inside the house the government provided for them. They all sat down around the dining table, taking a deep breath. Another mission done. It was easy of course, but it wasn’t always like this.

“Did he get you?” Xander questioned.

“No,” Ailee shook her head. “Moved just in time.”

“We leave tomorrow?” Michael questioned as he stood up.

“In two hours.”

“Thank god, I’m gonna shower.” Michael left the three alone.

“I have some news for you.” Xander sat beside Jennifer. “There’s another contract on Angel.”

“From the same contractor?” Ailee gave him a confused look. Contractors rarely put out a contract twice for the same guy. If they did, there would be just revisions of what they wanted the assassin to do or the time frame.

“No, there’s another hit out on Angel. Arthur informed me that another contract for Angel was placed on the market and someone took it already.” Xander explained, biting his bottom lip as he relayed the information to Ailee. “I would have taken it, but I was too late.”

Ailee sighed, cussing under her breath. “That’s breaking the rules.”

“What rules, Ailee?”

“Okay fine, it’s not a written code, but other assassin’s know not to take someone else’s job.” Ailee fumed. The disrespect. Angel Reyes was her target. There was no way in hell she was going to let someone else take him out.

“You know that usually just applies for people in the same agency.” Jennifer reminded her. “Does Arthur know who took the contract?”

“No he doesn’t.”

“We’ll find out,” Ailee stood up, taking off the sweater she was wearing. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to let someone else kill Angel.” Ailee fumed. “I’m going to kill whoever took the contract and then deal with Angel.”

“Ailee, maybe we should regroup, take some time.” Xander suggested.

“No, just been busy with other things. But Angel is back as the top priority. As soon as we land in California, we’re going to deal with this.” Ailee informed her team.

“What are you planning?” Jennifer questioned.

“Not sure yet, we’ll brainstorm in the plane.” Ailee replied. “Is it Theo?”

“I don’t think so,” Xander shook his head, turning his computer on to assess the situation. “I doubt it, Theo hasn’t made any noise since he was barred from entering the United States as part of that deal.”

“Yeah, but you can’t count him out.” Ailee’s been keeping up with Angel. She had too. He was still her target so she had to make sure he stayed alive till she was ready to deal with him.

Truthfully, she wasn’t ready to open that bag of problems, but it seems that someone was forcing her hand and she hated that. Whoever decided to cross her was going to die a slow and painful death.

* * *

 

“Bish, can I talk to you?” Angel questioned as he entered the Templo finding Bishop and Taza having a couple of beers and a smoke.

 

“What’s on your mind?” Bishop watched as Angel sat down at his usual spot.

 

 “Just in case things go south, I just wanted to let you know something,” Angel sighed. Bishop and Taza watched the young member, fearing that he was going to tell them something that would not only get him in trouble with the club, but with Galindo as well. “Evangelina came to me for a favor and I stupidly agreed, so Ailee is in our backyard.”

 

“Ailee? Vince’s little sister?” Taza questioned. Everyone knew who Ailee was, they met Ailee a handful of times whenever she was in Santo Padre. Then next thing they knew, she never came around. Whenever they asked Angel, he would just walk away, pretending he never heard them.

 

“The one who works for some underground government agency?” Bishop knew about Maquina, it was hard not to since he was well acquainted with Ailee’s parents and her uncle, Jin.

 

“Yeah, that one, just in case she goes through with her mission, I just want to let you guys know what’s going on,”

 

Taza raised an eyebrow at his statement. “Let us know what’s going on? What you do? Put a contract on your head?” Bishop and Taza began to laugh, giving Angel the benefit of the doubt that he wouldn’t make such an idiotic decision. Regardless of their relationship, they’re almost certain that the Ailee they once knew was long gone.

 

When they noticed that Angel wasn’t laughing, their laughter faded.

 

“Shit, Angel, don’t tell me you did,” Bishop shook his head, cursing Angel under his breath. “What favor did Evangelina ask for?”

 

“She told me that Ailee went off to the deep end and they were hoping that if there was a contract for my head, it would reel her back in and she wouldn’t take it.” Angel knew it was an idiotic idea. But it was the only one he could come up with.

 

“Let me guess, she took it and that new coffee shop in town isn’t a coincidence?” Taza smirked. “Love makes you do stupid things.”

 

“Definitely does,” Bishop took a swig out of his beer. “Thank you for letting us know, if there was one government agency we’re not worried about, it’s hers.”

 

“Why not?” Angel questioned. He was relieved. It was one secret out of the bag that he didn’t have to worry about the club finding out.

 

“Can’t fear something that doesn’t exist.” Bishop took a puff of his cigarette. “Our organization is not their concern, otherwise, they would be sniffing around already.”

 

“If there was anyone they would be concerned about, it was the Galindo Cartel,” Taza rasped out. “So what are you going to do? From the last time we saw her uncle, he says that she’s off the rails.”

 

“You meet with her uncle?” This was brand new information for Angel. Regardless of their opinions of Maquina, they were still a government agency.

 

“Again, if you don’t exist, you’re not a worry.” Bishop smirked. “So what’s the plan Angel?”

 

“She won’t kill me, I have full confidence in that.”

 

“Well, you have to look at the scenarios here. If she does decide to kill you, what are you going to do?” Bishop asked.

 

Angel never thought of that scenario. He always had strong faith that Ailee would never hurt him, and he still was confident she wouldn’t.

 

“I know what you’re thinking Angel, she’ll never hurt you, but in the off chance she does, you ready to kill her?”

 

“Well, like you said, if you don’t exist, you’re not a worry.”

 

“But she does exist,”

 

“She was supposed to stay out of Santo Padre, to make a better life.”

 

“And you thought she did when she up and left that one time?” Taza questioned.

 

“I never believed she could kill another human being.”

 

“But she can’t and from what I heard, she’s the best at it from her side of the tracks.” Bishop drank the last of his beer, sliding the empty bottle towards Angel. “With a trained mercenary, you don’t come in with faith, you have to come in just as they would. An empty, soulless killer.”

* * *

 

_Ailee was sitting on her bed, looking down at the diploma on her bed. She did it, she finished high school and was off to college. She wasn’t going to leave the state, she was accepted to UC San Diego and would be starting in September. A few months off was definitely not going to be too terrible since Vince was going to be back in town in two weeks. She missed her brother terribly, but at least she still had John to bother. Evangelina was with Oliver in DC. She was a bit disappointed that her two eldest siblings couldn’t be there for her graduation, but she understood why they couldn’t be there._

_“Ailee, you got a visitor!” She heard John call out._

_“Who is it?!” She yelled out._

_“It’s me,” Angel came into view at her doorway. “Sorry I couldn’t make it to your graduation, I got in late from visiting EZ.”_

_“No worries, how’s he doing?” Ailee questioned as Angel closed the door._

_He sat beside her on her bed, leaning against the headboard, stretching his legs out in front of him. “As good as he can be,” Angel sighed._

_“It’s difficult seeing him in there.” She stated for him. “You feel like you had a hand in it?”_

_“I gave him the fucking gun, Lee.” Angel knew better, he should have known better. EZ wasn’t going to do it for protection, it was for revenge. But he gave him the benefit of the doubt, cause it was EZ, the golden boy. The less problematic one, he was wrong._

_“And it was his choice to make,” Ailee reasoned._

_Her crush on Angel was still ever present and it just grew due to Angel basically attaching himself to her when her brother left. She was certain Vince asked Angel to be her shadow, but it just made things harder for her. It was hard to date anyone in Santo Padre since everyone knew she hung around Angel and Coco. They were like her fucking chastity belt._

_“How was your graduation?” He picked up the diploma that was already placed in a frame. “The youngest Cruz, finally on her way to be something.”_

_“If life gets too hard, at least I can get a decent sugar daddy in San Diego.”_

_Angel laughed at that, placing her diploma on the table beside her bed. “That’s fucking disgusting.”_

_“Hey, I’ll share the wealth with you and Coco.” Ailee playfully smacked his arm. “I’m nice.”_

_“You definitely are,” Angel lied down, putting his hands behind his head. “Come here.”_

_Ailee hated it when they laid down on the same bed. She really wished she wasn’t family zoned and actually had a chance with Angel. It was a love-hate relationship really. On one hand, she loves lying down next to Angel, he usually would wrap his arms around her as she would tell him about her day. He would listen and eventually, she would hear his soft snores, it was the best part of her day. On the other hand, it was making everything so difficult for her. She wanted to move on, but it was a moot point. She figured she could do it when she was in college. He would be an hour and a half away and with him prospecting for the Mayans, he would be far too busy to visit her._

_That was her plan, to forget Angel by moving on in college. She wasn’t sure how it was going to work, but she had to try. She had a great relationship with Angel and she would hate to lose that due to her crush on him._

_So, she lied down beside him, letting him wrap an arm around her. She knew he needed this, with the whole thing with his mom, EZ and Felipe, he needed to know that there was someone there for him. And that person was Ailee. No matter what stupid shit he got into, Ailee always showed him how much she cared about him. It was the little things that mattered to Angel and she meant the world to him._

_“You won’t forget me right?” She heard Angel question, her head lying on his chest._

_She moved so that her chin rested on her hand that was now on his chest._

_“Couldn’t forget you even if I tried.”_

_Angel smirked at that. He hated this relationship he had with Ailee because he knew it can only stay here. Vince would kill him if he found out how he developed feelings for Ailee. It was why he stayed away when she turned 13 and he became more aware that his fondness of her wasn’t due to him seeing her as a younger sister. He was slowly falling for the youngest Cruz and the best he could do was keep her as a little sister. It was a sick thing, but Angel had to have her somehow. If it were to play a big brother role, even though she already had two, he would take it._

_Ailee was too good for him. He couldn’t tie her down to him, she was bigger than Santo Padre, just like EZ._

_But unlike EZ, he wouldn’t help her fuck up her life. No, he was going to make sure she got out of Santo Padre and never looked back._

 

 


End file.
